Locomotive driving-wheel.



Patented Aug. l9, I902.

L.; n. ksnvou. LOC UMOTIVE DRIVING WHEEL. (Apphcaltxon filed Jam 6 1902 4 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

wvavran;

- WIT/V55? THE NORRIS PETERS O0. PNOYOUTMO" WASHINGTON, D. C.

, No.'707,335.' Patented Aug. l9, I902.

LQH. KENYONL LUGOMUTIVE DRIVING WHEEL.

Ap macion med Jan. 0, 1902. I (No Model.) v 1 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

' I lllllllllh No. 707,335. 'Patented Aug. I9, I902.

L. H. KENYON.

LOCOMOTIVE DRIVING WHEEL.

(Application filed Jan. 6, 1902. (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

WIT/11588.58.- v

2 0 W H, u u A d e t n e a P L E E H PW MG Ym m KB .5.- H T 0 M o c 0 L 5 3 3 7 0 7 0 N (Annlication filed. Jan. 6, 1902.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 4. 7

(No Model.)

NrTED STATES LOWELL H. KENYON, OF ALLEGHENY,PENNSYLVANIA.

LOCOMOTIVE DRIVING-WHEEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 707,335, dated August 19, 1902.

' Application filed January 6,1902. Serial No. 88,513. (No model.)

To all whom it noel/y concern.-

Be it known that I, LOWELL H. KENYONQof Allegheny, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Improvementin Locomotive Driving-Wheels, of which improvement the following is a specification.

The principal object of my invention is to provide simple and effective means whereby the driving-wheels of locomotive-engines may be so counterbalanced that the disturbing ac-- tion of the connected reciprocating parts and of compression in the cylinders of the engine may be eliminatedor neutralized with approximately the same degree of perfection as is attained by the employment of a fly-wheel or balance-wheel in a stationary steam-engine, the counterbalance to be provided heing of such character that the result desired may be attained-by compensating as nearly as practicable the weight of the connected rotating parts without necessitating the additional counterweight which has heretofore been employed to balance the reciprocating parts.

A further object of my invention is to more nearly equalize the weight of the main and the coupled driving-wheels in a locomotive having more than one pair of driving-wheels, and thereby to attain a more uniform wear of tires, and consequently a longer period ofservice before they require to be turned, as well as to increase the hauling capacity of the engine and obviate loss of power through binding and slipping of wheels by reason of unequal diameters of tires.

The improvement claimed is hereinafter fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in elevation showing three coupled locomotive driving-wheels with the connected main and coupling or parallel rods, the front and back driving-wheels illustrating an embodiment of my invention; Fig. 2, a plan or top View of the same; Fig. 3, a similar view of the body or center of a main drivingwheel as ordinarily constructed with a light rim and heavy counterbalance; Fig. 4:, a diametralsection through the hub and crankpin hub of the same; Fig. 5, a view in elevatation of one of the coupled driving-wheels of a locomotive having more than one pair of driving-wheels, illustrating an embodiment of my invention; Fig. 6, a diametral section through the hub and crank-pin hub of the sameyFig. 7,'a view in elevation of one of the coupled driving-Wheels of a locomotive having more than one pair of driving wheels, illustrating another form of my invention; and Fig. 8, a diametralsection showing still another difference of form. Figs. 9

and 10are similar views of another form of my invention. 7

It has heretofore been the practice to estimate the weight of both the revolving and the reciprocating parts which are connected to each of the main driving-wheels of a locomotive and to add to the main wheel a deadweight or counterbalance (ordinarily of considerable weight) which is calculated to be sufficient to compensate the otherwise unbalanced action of the revolving and reciprocating parts. The rim of the wheel is made as light as is considered to be compatible with proper strength, and the counterbalance is concentrated in a mass or body which is located on the opposite side of the center from terial, as the tires of the heavier main Wheels wear more rapidly than those of the lighter coupled wheels, and impairing the eiiiciency of the engine by reason of the slipping of the Wheels due to the inequality of diameters of the tires as between the main and the coupled wheels.

The essential structural characteristic of the present standard system of counterbalancing is a dead-Weight, which is so formed or fixed upon the driving-wheel that its mass is concentrated at and adjoining a segment of the, rim thereof on the side of the center opposite to the crank-pin hub.

My present invention differs from the system referred to, as Well as from any other which has heretofore been proposed, so far as my knowledge and information extend, in the particular that its essential structural characteristic is a dead-weight or counterbalance which extends completely, although not necessarily uninterruptedly, around the rim of the driving-wheel and which is of such form or so located relatively to the geometrical center of the Wheel that its center of gravity lies between the geometrical center and the rim of the wheel and as near as practicable to the latter on the side of the center opposite to the crank-pin hub.

A further characteristic of my improvement as applied in coupled driving-wheels 'L'. e., those which are fixed upon drivingaxles other than the main oneconsists in a counterbalance as above specified which is made of such weight that the aggregate of its weight and that of the coupled drivingwheel to which it is attached will be preferably substantially equal to the aggregate weight of the main wheel, its counterbalance, and the revolving parts connected to it.

Referring to the drawings, a main drivingwheel A, which is of the ordinary form and is fixed upon a main driving-axle a, is shown as coupled to a front driving-wheel B and a back driving-wheel O, which coupled wheels are fixed, respectively, upon a front drivingaxle b and a back driving-axle c and are provided with counterbalances embodying my invention. Each of the driving-wheels consists of a body or center having a central hub 1 and a rim 2, which are connected by spokes or arms 3 in the usual manner, and a crank-pin hub 4 is formed upon each wheel at a distance from its geometrical center equal to one-half the stroke of the pistons of the engine. The wheel-centers are encircled by tires 5 of the usual form, and the wheels are coupled to rotate together by front and back parallel or coupling rods 6 and 7, which are connected to a main crank-pin 8, fixed in the crank-pin hub 4 of the main wheel, and to front and back crank-pins 9 and 10, fixed in the crank-pin hubs of the front and back driving-wheels. The main connecting-rod 11 is coupled at its rear end to the main crankpin 8 and at its front end to a cross-head pin (not shown) in the ordinary manner.

The main wheel A accords in form and principle with those in ordinary practice, its rim 1 being made as light as will afford proper strength and its counterbalance12 being of the usual lune form and adjoining and extending throughout a segment of the rim, which in the instance shown includes the outer ends of six spokes. The counterbalance 12 is indicated as being of substantial weight and of the general form and proportions usually employed in present practice.

The counterbalance 13 of each of the coupled driving-wheels B and O, which illustrates one specific embodiment of my invention, is

an annulus of metal, which is fixed to the rim 2 of the wheel preferably by being cast integral therewith, although it may, if desired, be separately formed and secured to the rim in any suitable known manner. The counterbalance is in this instance shown as formed in a single piece, which extends continuously or uninterruptedly around the rim of the wheel; but its integrality or absolute contiunity is not an essential of my invention, and it may without departure therefrom be composed of a plurality of separate segments the adjoining ends of which are in such proximity that the spaces interposed between them constitute only a comparatively small proportion of open space in the entire annulus.

The periphery or outer circumferential contour of the counterbalance is located as close as practicable to that of the wheel-center or so that it shall not interfere with the attachment of the tire or be cut away in turning the wheel-center to receive the tire, and its front surface preferably extends outwardly as far as is admissible by the provision of necessary clearance between it and the coupling-rods. The form of the inner circumferential contour of the counterbalance may be varied in the discretion of the constructor within the limits requisite for compliance with the essential characteristic of my invention hereinbefore notedt'. e., that the center of gravity of the counterbalance shall lie between the geometrical center and the rim of the wheel and on the side of the center opposite to the crank-pin hub. Thus, for example, as shown in the drawings, the periphery of the counterbalance may be concentric with the wheel, and its inner circumferential contour is partially eccentric thereto, while the remainder of the inner circumferential contouris concentric. It will be obvious that the radius of the eccentric portion thereof may also be varied to a substantial extent without departure from my invention, upon which lines of variation the eccentric portion may approximate in form and relative location the inner contour of counterbalances of the ordinary form. Thus in Figs. 7 and 8 the concentric portion of the counterbalance extends over nearly three-fourths of the circu mference of the wheel, while the eccentric portion occupies the remainder thereof. Finally, the same object may be attained by the employment of an annular counterbalance which is concentric with the wheel, but which is so formed that a greater Weight of metal will be located on the side of the center opposite the crankpin hub than on the other side. Figs. 9 and 10 show a counterbalance 13 of such form, the same projecting outwardly to a greater extent, and consequently having a greater Weight of metal on the side of the center opposite the crank-pin hub 4: than on the other side. Summing up as to this characteristic of my invention, it may suffice to note that while the center of gravity of the counterbalance must necessarily be eccentric to that of the body or center of the wheel the specific form or location by which such eccentricity is attained is not material and may be varied in the discretion of the constructor within the limits above set forth. 7

The substantial continuity of the counterbalance above described enables it to exert throughout the entire revolution of .the driving-wheel a stored energy which acts in opposition to the weight of the connected reciprocating parts and the compression in the cylinders, and the excess of weight opposite thecrank-pin may therefore be made correspondingly less than that of a counterbalance of the ordinary type having its entire mass located within a segmental portion only of the wheel and whose weight is computed under different rules, each of which is arbitrary and largely empirical, and is designed to be sufficient to couuteract the unbalanced action of the weight of both the reciprocating and the rotating parts.

In the application of my invention in locomotive-engines having two or more pairs of driving-Wheels the counterbalances of both the main and the coupled wheels are of the form and location substantially as hereinbe-- fore described and are also preferably of such character as to attain a further advantageous result which is made practicable by my invention1l. 6., the making the Weight of the main and the coupled wheels more nearly equal. To this end, the main wheel being taken as a basis and being counterbalanced in theon dinary manner under any recognizedand approved rule to counteract that of the rotat ing parts, the coupled wheels are provided with my improved counterbalance, which is made of such weight that the aggregate of its weight and the weights of the coupled wheel and the connected revolving parts may be substantially equal to the aggregate weight of the main wheel, its counterbalance, and the connected revolving parts. This equalization of weight prevents inequality of wear of tires and eliminates the resultant loss due to the 4 expense and the waste of metal and time in turning down tires which are but slightly worn and do notrequire turning to correspond with those which are Worn toa substantially greater degree. The uniformity of wear due tothe substantial equalization of weight of the several wheels also obviates slipping ofwheels and consequent loss of power which would be occasioned by difference in diameter of tires due to unequal wear, as in present practice. a

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The combination,withalocomotive driving-wheel, of an annular counterbalance having its center of gravity eccentric to that of the driving-Wheel.

2. The combination, with alocomotive driving-wheel, of an annular counterbalance having its center of gravity eccentric to that of the driving-wheel and located on the side of the center thereof opposite to the crank-pin hub. v

3. The combination, with a locomotive driving-Wheel, of an annular counterbalance fixed upon the rim of the wheel'and having a circumferential contour surface which is partly concentric and partly eccentric to that of the driving-wheel.

4:. The combination, with a locomotive driving-wheel, of an annular counterbalance fixed upon the rim of the wheel and having a portion of its inner circumferential contour on the side of the center of the dri ving-wheel opposite to the crank-pin hub, eccentric to the driving-wheel.

5 r The combination, with a locomotive driving-Wheel, of an annular counterbalance fixed upon the rim of the wheel and having a greater portion of its weight located on the side of the center of the driving-wheel opposite to the crank-pin hub than on the other side thereofl 6. The combination, with a coupled locomotive driving-wheel, of an annular counterbalance having its center of gravity eccentric to that of the driving-wheel and which is made of such weight that the aggregate of its weight and those of the coupled wheel and connected revolving parts shall be substantially equal to that of the main driving-wheel, its counterbalance,and the connected revolving parts.

LowELL H. KENYON. 

